This invention relates to gas-powered projectile firing devices, such as paintball markers, and in particular, to a cocking knob and striker arrangement for such devices.
Paintball markers typically are powered by a compressed gas, such as CO2, which is released in a burst in the chamber behind a paintball to propel the paintball out of the barrel of the marker. The barrel is attached to a receiver that houses a bolt slidable in the chamber, a valve for controlling gas flow, and a spring-loaded striker that slides below the bolt. A trigger and sear assembly holds the striker in a rear, cocked position, and releases the striker when the trigger is pulled so that it moves forwardly under spring pressure to open the valve momentarily, releasing a metered quantity of gas into the chamber.
The striker and the bolt are linked together by a connecting pin so that they move in unison, the bolt serving to advance one paintball at a time from the breach, where paintballs are loaded through a ball feed port, into the chamber and seal the chamber from the feed port. A cocking handle or knob attached to the striker allows the user to pull the striker rearwardly to the cocked position, ready for firing. Most paintball markers are semi-automatic, i.e., gas pressure re-cocks the marker with each firing, so that manual cocking is required only when the gas supply is connected, and for the initial shot.
In prior art markers the cocking handle has a threaded end that screws into the striker, the other end of the handle projecting from the side of the marker and having a screwdriver slot for turning the cocking handle. The coil spring that drives the striker rests against the rear end of the striker, in some cases in a recess or a blind hole. When disassembling the marker for cleaning, there are many threaded connections that must be undone, the connection between the cocking handle and the striker being one such connection. Simplification of the disassembly and reassembly process is a desirable objective.
The invention accomplishes the aforementioned and other objectives by providing an improved cocking knob for moving the spring-loaded striker of a gas-powered projectile firing device rearwardly into a cocked position ready for firing. The cocking knob comprises an elongated member having a longitudinal axis, a proximal portion adapted for operative connection with the striker and a manually engageable distal portion, the proximal portion having a rearwardly facing spring seat adapted to engage the striker spring.
The spring seat preferably comprises a recess adapted to receive the front end of the striker spring. The spring seat recess may comprise a pair of spaced notches in which the front end of the striker spring can rest.
The proximal portion of the cocking knob preferably has a striker seat adapted to operatively engage the striker, the engagement of the striker spring and the spring seat serving to prevent disengagement of the striker seat from the striker. Conversely, disengagement of the striker spring from the spring seat affords easy disengagement of the cocking knob from the striker, without having to unscrew the cocking knob. The striker seat may comprise a generally J-shaped recess which opens generally axially and forwardly, the spring seat being disposed on the rear side of the longer leg of the J.
According to a second aspect, the invention provides a gas-powered projectile firing device comprising a receiver, a striker slidable in the receiver, a striker spring biasing the striker forwardly, and a cocking knob comprising an elongated member having a longitudinal axis, a proximal portion adapted for operative connection with the striker and a manually engageable distal portion, the proximal portion having a rearwardly facing spring seat adapted to engage the striker spring.
The proximal end of the cocking knob may have a J-shaped recess as described above that engages a substantially upright pin attached to the striker. The striker may have an axial bore at the rear end thereof and a lateral opening ahead of the rear end which opens into the axial bore, so that the proximal portion of the cocking knob extends through the lateral opening into the axial bore, and the striker spring extends forwardly into the axial bore to engage the spring seat on the proximal portion of the cocking knob.
According to a third aspect, the invention provides a gas-powered projectile firing device comprising a receiver; a chamber in the receiver; a bolt slidable in the chamber; a barrel at the front end of the receiver aligned with the chamber; a striker slidable in the receiver parallel to and below the chamber; a connecting pin interconnecting the striker and the bolt so that they move in unison; a valve assembly in the receiver forwardly of the striker; a striker spring in the receiver biasing the striker forwardly toward the valve assembly; a sear and trigger assembly for controlling the motion of the striker; and a cocking knob for moving the striker rearwardly into a cocked position ready for firing. The cocking knob comprises an elongated member having a longitudinal axis, a proximal portion engaging the connecting pin and a manually engageable distal portion, the proximal portion having a rearwardly facing spring seat which engages the forward end of the striker spring.